They say the Eskimos have over 100 words for SNOW. Well not to be outdone, paint companies have hundreds and hundreds of words for the color WHITE. This fact was recently pointed out to a good friend of mine. She and her family are less than one week away from moving to Montreal CA from Boston MA (in a too good to pass up job opportunity for her husband). Since they will only be there for 3 years they are keeping their current home and are renting an apartment in Canada. She told me she loves their new apartment but every room is painted a different color from the crayon box so the landlord has offered to have the whole place repainted.

Now choosing paint color can be a daunting task even in the best of circumstances; but choosing color from another country for a home you have only seen once without knowing what your furniture, carpets or fabrics will be, is nearly impossible. For that reason my friend emailed the painter to “just paint the whole place white”. Sounds simple, right? Well my poor friend called me in a complete panic because the painter emailed her back (smart painter) and asked, “of the more than 200 whites available which one do you want me to use?”

Choosing white is not any easier than choosing any other color. Like other neutrals, most whites have undertones and you want to choose the right undertone in order to get the look and feel you want. Whites can be a pure white or have either a Yellow, Red (pink) or Blue (Green, Purple) undertone.

So if you decide to “just paint it white” here are 3 Tips for choosing the “right” white.

#1. Determine the look and feel you want for the room.

If you want a warm and cozy feeling in your room then soft creamy whites (yellow undertone) work best. Creamy whites work great in more traditional homes that have other neutrals and earth tones in the fabrics and carpet.

If a super bright and clean contemporary look is what you want then a pure white or a white with a blue undertone will work best.

#2. It is important to think about how much light the room gets.

Contrary to popular belief, white does not brighten up a dark space. White just goes gray and dull without plenty of light. If your room is flooded with bright natural light then a pure white or a cool white (blue undertone) looks great.

If the room is bright but lacking a lot of natural light then choosing a white with pink or red undertones can warm up the space.

#3. Look at what other Colors are in the room.

A bright, clean or cool white looks best with other bright clean colors.

While creamy whites look best with Earth Tones, other neutrals and dark wood furniture.

As for my stressed out friend? She couldn’t answer any of my 3 questions so I did what she asked and “just picked a white”….hope she likes it !! 🙂

What do you think of white?

If you need help choosing the right white or any other color, give me a call.

Every now and then the Universe aligns just so and I receive a bonanza of reading goodies… all on a rainy Friday afternoon heading into a rainy weekend. Today when I opened the mail box I had one of those “my life is perfect” moments (hey I’m a simple gal, what can I say).

Look what was in my mail box today!!

Decorating Bonanza

and just so you don’t feel badly for my husband; he got something too.

It was just a few short weeks ago that I was bemoaning the fact that Homegoods was all Halloween. Then yesterday while picking up coffee at our local farm I saw that the first bunch of pumpkins are out and Fall decor is now pretty much everywhere.

photo Linda Holt

Over the past few years I have been a little sparse (lazy) with my own Fall decorating. My kids are grown, we live on a somewhat remote country road and in the 6 years we have lived here we have only had 2 Trick or Treaters. I usually just put a few pumpkins out and if a Fall decor box is within easy reach in the basement I’ll bring it out.

This year however I have signed on to decorate a Fall/Thanksgiving themed kitchen in a local Home Tour. For the first time in years my excitement for Fall decorating is back. The tour organizers have asked the designers to show as many ideas for Fall decorating as possible. Humm…the thing about me though, is Martha Stewart I am not.

Martha Stewart Pumpkins

I have never been the queen of DIY (do it yourself) unless it involves paint. If it is not super easy AND super quick, I’m not interested. So, in the spirit of ANYONE can do this I want to share a few quick and easy Fall decorating ideas that I am considering for my show house kitchen.

Yellow, orange and white spray paint and Voila! Candy Corn Gourds.

Candy Corn Pumpkins

A group of different sized pumpkins on a stick would make a cute centerpiece.

Pumpkins on a stick

Branches from the back yard, painted or non painted acorns (your choice) glue gun, string and a vase.

acorns on branch

Apples cored and filled with votive candles

apple candles

or squash..same as apples, hollowed out with candle.

squash candles

No paint or tools need at all for this table display.

mini pumpkins in glass vase

Super easy, apples, candle and large glass bowl.

Ribbon glued around mini pumpkins..cute in an old pie tin or wooden bowl.

I first heard rumors that Ben Moore was going to be introducing a new line of full spectrum paint way back last Winter. I asked all three of my local Ben Moore paint stores and not one of them had heard a thing. Then as luck would have it, my blogosphere friend Kelly of Restyling Home by Kelly posted this blog about the paint and the fact that Babels was one of the 5 chosen “test” stores in the US to carry the line. Well hooray for me! Babels is where I bought all my paint before our big move 6 years ago and although Babels is now over an hour from me, I couldn’t get down there fast enough. The trip was not a disappointment. The 200 new colors are absolutely incredible. Being full spectrum they are made without any black or gray so just like other full spectrum paint, the colors are complex, rich and fabulous. The Colors are divided up into color “stories” with names like Urban Casual, Dark Romance, Free Spirited, Enriched, Organic Comfort, Worldly Views and Vintage. I brought home as many samples as the kind lady would let me and once home, “played” with my colors for hours (only another paint nerd would understand this).

Here is a sample of some of the more deep and intense colors:

Linda Holt Interiors photo

and here are some of the beautiful complex neutrals:

Benjamin Moore Color Stories neutrals Linda Holt Interiors

I was so excited to try out the paint but which color and where???

I was currently in the middle of making over my dining room ( pictures will come soon) but I had already painted the walls and had just installed these new drapes from West Elm.

West Elm Curtains

in this Pear Green Color.

Then, while sorting through all my Color Stories samples I noticed this color combination on the cover of a Mark Rothko book that was right in front of me on my desk. I pulled a beautiful red/orange called Tandoori and put it next to Turkish Bay Leaf (color of my drapes) and I knew what I wanted to do.

Tandori and Turkish Bay leaf

We have a big open hallway with a large window over looking a huge green tree. I thought the red/orange color of the Tandoori would be a great way to frame the ever changing art which is the tree itself. The hallway also opens up into my dining room with the Turkish Bay Leaf colored drapes and my living room which is green and navy blue with small accents of orange.

The paint itself was just as amazing as the colors; smooth, virtually odorless, and went on beautifully. I am totally in love with Color Stories. Here is the finished hallway. As you can see, I just painted the one back wall to frame the tree. It was difficult to get the impact of the trees coming into the house because of the glare, but trust me, it feels like the trees are right in the hallway.

Tandoori from Ben Moore Color Stories

The little chest belonged to my Mom, all the framed art on the “gallery wall” was done by my son and my Grandmother made the afghan hanging over the staircase. It’s funny and I just realized it now but four generations have contributed to this hallway decor.

Hope you enjoyed my little Color Stories Story and I hope Color Stories comes to a paint store near you soon!

If you would like help choosing color or decorating your home, give me a call.